Insurgent attacks on U.S. troops supporting ongoing operations for the Global War On Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan have exposed vulnerabilities of the ground vehicles used by our troops. Consequently, the HMMWV (commonly known as HumVee) and other light tactical military vehicles, are being up-armored to counter the insurgent threats and provide an increased level of soldier protection. A new issue results in that the additional weight of the armor and associated upward shift in center of gravity (CG) has caused these vehicles to become increasingly unstable and difficult for the troops to control. Numerous rollover accidents have and continue to occur given the tendency of these vehicles to go out of control and tip during evasive maneuvering, off-road travel and IED/RPG attack. When an up-armored vehicle rolls over, many times the crew cannot egress via the doors due to the weight of the armor on the doors, or jamming of doors from the vehicle frame twisting. The gunner's station is not an option for exit either if the vehicle is up-side-down. The result is that the crew is often killed due to vehicle fires, follow-up insurgent attacks, trauma injuries and drowning as they attempt to egress the vehicle. Therefore there is a need for an emergency egress system for the up-armored vehicles.
Transparent armored vehicle escape windows are mounted as the windshield of armored vehicles. These windows contain features to allow the crew to unlatch the armored window and push the windows out of their respective mountings to facilitate escape of the crew. Specifically, BAE Systems manufactures a window referred to as a VEE Window™ that allows a crew inside an armored vehicle such as a HMMWV or MRAP to quickly remove the ballistic windshield and escape during an emergency, such as a rollover or accident. For example, a crew member in a vehicle with VEE windows who is able to move freely can create a passage for escape by simply pulling out the window locking pins, turning the appropriate latches, and pushing the window out of the frame.
In past designs, however, the windshield wiper arm mounted in the vicinity of the windows may impede the opening of these windows. In most cases, the wiper arm extends across the armored window. The wiper arm, mounted through the window frame, remains in place when the armored window is dislodged. Existing wiper arms interfere and prevent the ejection of the escape armored window. In some cases, the possibility of wiper snap-back or being poked or impaled by the wipers may pose significant risks to persons seeking egress from the vehicle. In other cases, the wiper arms could catch on clothing or equipment that might hinder or interfere with vehicle egress.
Therefore, a design is sought that will enable windows to be ejected from armored vehicles without wiper arm interference. Moreover, a design is sought which will promote safe egress from the vehicle and minimize risks of personal injury to vehicle occupants.